Spectacular increases in pull rates from glass melting furnaces have been achieved during the last two decades. In connection with this increase, furnace charging has had to keep up with the corresponding demand for batch. Recent advances in glass melting such as preheated, pelletized batch are placing even greater demands on batch feeding.
Conventional batch feeders discharge glass making ingredients onto molten glass in the furnace. One example supplies batch from a carriage which extends across the width of a tank and which reciprocates back and forth over the length of the tank. The carriage can include vibratory feeders which regulate the rate of feed of the batch. Another example feeds glass batch material through inlet openings in the furnace known as the feeding doghouse. The batch may be introduced intermittently to form a blanket floating on the surface of molten glass or continuously to form a uniform blanket.